Conservative Conversations with ISI

In this episode: Khalil Habib joins Conservative Conversations in an episode that covers a wide range of great thinkers, including Machiavelli, Montesquieu, Polybius, Livy, Lucretius, Tocqueville, and Edmund Burke why republics tend to become empires, and how the Founders used the history of the classical world when thinking about the Constitution how Napoleon fits into the story and meaning of th...

In this episode: three historians discuss the legacies and importance of Andrew Jackson, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinley what it means to be a statesman, as exemplified by these great American leaders what we miss about America when we miss 19th century American history Texts Mentioned: A Man of Iron by Troy Senik Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H.W. Brands President McKinley: Archite...

In this episode:  Professor Susan Hanssen joins the podcast to discuss the quintessentially American holiday of Thanksgiving and its history how the Puritans and Pilgrims fit into the British political and cultural experience, how they end up in America, and how they shape America today what remains in the American project as a “remnant” that’s powerful and worth conserving today Texts Mentioned: ...

In this episode: ISI’s own Jane Scharl joins the podcast to talk about her work as a professional poet and playwright why everyone needs to appreciate the fine arts to be fully human, and how to get started for beginners why beauty changes and saves the world by changing and saving souls, and how to become a patron of artists to produce more beautiful things Texts Mentioned: Sonnez Les Matines by...

In this episode:  A special debate between Henry Olsen and Donald Devine about the legacy of Ronald Reagan, from our recent Modern Age panel celebrating the launch of the new Modern Age website Texts Mentioned:  Old House of Fear by Russell Kirk The Working Class Republican by Henry Olsen Ronald Reagan’s Enduring Principles by Donald Devine Ronald Reagan “A Time for Choosing” Speech Modern Age Bec...

In this episode: Dr. Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and author of To Provide and Maintain a Navy , joins the podcast to talk about the need for America to revitalize the US Navy and defend the “free seas” a deep dive into America’s foreign policy, especially the challenges posed by our three biggest adversaries: China, Russia, and Iran advice for students consider a life of service in the U...

In this episode: Sam Hammond, senior economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, joins the podcast to talk about artificial intelligence and its transformative aspects on modern society what AI offers human society to advance our economy and our society, and the potential dangers of AI run amok how AI and super-intelligent machines that match or exceed human cognition will mean for human...

In this episode: Rodge Reschini, ISI’s editor of The Cornell Review , joins the podcast to talk about the state of the conservative movement at Cornell a student perspective on “academic freedom” how to leverage alumni support as a check on the worst impulses of American universities Texts Mentioned: “Trigger Warnings Are Bad, Voluntary or Not” by Rodge Reschini “Should College Come With Trigger W...

In this episode: Alexandra Hudson joins the podcast to talk about her new book, The Soul of Civility how Burke and Locke come together with the “vertical” and “horizontal” social compacts that capture the social and political relations of society the difference between politeness and civility, and the limits of politeness in our personal and political life Texts Mentioned: The Soul of Civility by...

In this episode:  A special Q&A between Johnny and Tucker following Tucker’s keynote address at ISI’s annual Gala for Western Civilization at our new Linda Bean Center on campus in Wilmington, DE Tucker reflects on a career in journalism and the role of individuals in a democracy. Join us as they discuss the future of America and what ISI is doing for students across the country.  Texts Mentio...

In this episode: Jesse Merriam, professor of constitutional studies at Patrick Henry College, joins the podcast to talk about how we got our antiracist Constitution how Brown v. Board’s jurisprudence unleashed a diversity regime that has usurped the written Constitution and the principles of a free society what we can expect for the future of affirmative action in light of the recent Supreme Court...

In this episode: Catherine Pakaluk joins the podcast to discuss her forthcoming book, Hannah’s Children , about women having large families amongst a culture of childlessness the limits of economic and family policy in reversing the falling birthrates, and what really drives our demographic decline Marlo and Catherine talk about the various joys and challenges that come with motherhood, both of on...

In this episode: Zena Hitz joins the podcast to talk about the enduring value and necessity of a liberal arts education how class and economic considerations describe the shifts towards “practical” studies and coursework to the neglect of “the fundamental questions” the connection between ascetic practice and proper reasoning, and how education requires retreat from the present things Texts Mentio...

In this episode: Tom Shakely, Chief Engagement Officer for Americans United for Life, joins the podcast to discuss the case for making birth free and charting a pro-family agenda why Lincoln’s insights on shaping public opinion about slavery should analogously inform the pro-life movement’s thinking about protecting the unborn how the logic of abortion could lead to a dystopian regime that promote...

In this episode: Michael Anton joins the podcast to discuss his book, The Stakes, about the state of the country in 2020 and what could be lost and gained How the progressive ideology that rules California’s politics has turned the state into a nightmare, from education and cost-of-living to immigration and crime Where we could be headed in America’s short-term political future with the coming 202...

In this episode: Jay Richards joins the podcast to talk about the political machine that drives the transgender ideology that has captured the American public square how fighting gender ideology offers an opportunity for conservatives to make allies with others across the political spectrum to defend reality practical advice for how to become an expert in any topic Texts Mentioned: Chloe Cole test...

In this episode: Sohrab Ahmari, author and founder of Compact magazine, joins the podcast to discuss his new book, Tyranny Inc. about private coercion and its role in harming the American working class Texts Mentioned: “Sohrab Ahmari on the Unbroken Thread” episode of Conservative Conversations The Unbroken Thread by Sohrab Ahmari Tyranny, Inc. by Sohrab Ahmari A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes...

In this episode: Acclaimed journalist and activist Christopher Rufo joins the podcast to discuss his new book, America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything why language is an essential tool in driving social and political change what the Right can do to reform and change the institutions that have been captured by Leftist priorities Texts Mentioned: America’s Cultural R...

In this episode: Brad Wilcox, the Director of the National Marriage Project, joins the podcast to talk about marriage, family formation, and children The important keys to successful and happy marriage, and what elites tell us that we need to reject why men and women are alienated from each other, and what each sex should go to recover a calling to family life Texts Mentioned: Get Married: Why Ame...

In this episode: Glenn Ellmers joins the podcast to discuss his new book, The Narrow Passage , about the permanent political problems that stem from reason in politics how the modern project rejects the humility of the classical tradition, and has ushered in the philosophic tyranny of the modern administrative state and woke ideology  why the Left is built upon a contradiction between postmodernis...

In this episode: Joseph DeReuil, a student at Notre Dame and editor-in-chief emeritus of ND’s Irish Rover , joins the podcast to talk about being sued by a Notre Dame professor what life is like on a Catholic college campus like Notre Dame, and how ISI and the Collegiate Network has helped him make a difference what aspiring journalists should pay attention to when honing their skills Texts Mentio...

In this episode: ISI’s Conservative Book of the Year Award Winner Daniel Mahoney and former attorney general and senator Jeff Sessions join the podcast for a live interview with Johnny about Dan’s book The Statesman as Thinker whether the Founders were too successful in setting up a system of checks and balances that ultimately undermined statesmanship of “great-souled men” the pathologies of Amer...

In this episode: Lee Edwards joins the podcast to celebrate 100 episodes of Conservative Conversations and talk about the history of ISI how fusionism remains a vibrant approach to conservative politics and scholarship in bringing together seemingly disparate persuasions the importance of Bill Buckley not only as an intellectual or a political actor, but as an organizer in creating many of the cen...

 In this episode:  Claes Ryn joins the podcast to discuss his most recent book, The Failure of American Conservatism and the Road Not Taken why the imagination of a culture is central to its political disposition, and why the Left has been successful in dominating the American imagination how Strauss, particularly his critique of historicism, has eroded American traditions, and ultimately been uns...

In this episode: Zak Slayback, Marlo’s husband and a partner at 1517 Fund, joins the podcast to discuss the critical distinctions and concepts regarding discussions about technology in the modern world what “scale” and “time-frame” considerations do on a social scale with different technological disruptions, especially in the information age how techno-realism charts the right course for conservat...